Typing data into a keyboard is the most common means to input data into a data processing system running an application software program. To enter data, the computer operator is usually required to laboriously type in long strings of letters and/or numbers read from a printed list. The typed in data is then available for processing by the CPU running the application program.
Several problems are associated with using keyboards as data input devices. Using a keyboard for data entry is a time consuming and tedious task. The computer operator is prone to make typing errors and mistakes while finding and reading the data to be entered. Furthermore, the computer operator is subject to fatigue and eye strain due to looking into a CRT screen for extended periods of time. More recently, alternatives to key board data input devices have become available. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,699, a computer data input system is disclosed. The device operates by detecting a stylus position on an entry tablet. The stylus generates signals representing position, and the signal is transmitted to a processor. The processor then displays stylus position on a CRT. In the preferred embodiment, a graph is also displayed on the CRT to provide an intelligent meaning to the stylus position to a computer operator.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,312, an order entry system is disclosed. The order entry system includes a display showing, pictorially, the elements or items to be selected from the menu. An aiming selector is used to make the desired selection. Each item on the menu contains a light responsive detector which is selected by directing the aiming selector at the desired item. A controller is adapted to receive and process the selected items.
The prior art also includes many types of data tablets for centering pairs of (x,y) coordinates. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,564,928, 4,357,672, and 4,124,838. A mouse for selecting icons appearing on a CRT screen is also a known data input device.
The prior art, as set forth above, fails to disclose a system which automates entry of data printed on computer paper into application programs running on a data processing system.